1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to personal information managers, i.e., devices for organizing various types of information including appointments, expenses, telephone and address information, lists including to-do lists, etc.
2. State of the Art
As computing devices have become smaller, personal information managers of the type described have become commonplace. Some personal information managers are specially-designed, stand-alone devices (e.g., Sharp's Wizard.TM., Casio's Boss.TM.). Other personal information managers are application programs designed to run on general-purpose computing devices, for example desktop, notebook, sub-notebook, or handheld personal computers (e.g., HP200LX, Psion 3a), or personal digital assistants (PDAs) such as the Newton.TM. and the Zoomer.TM. PDAs (made by Apple Computer and Casio Electronics, respectively). More recently, Personal Intelligent Communicators (PICs) having telecommunications capabilities have become available (e.g., Sony's Magic Link.TM., Motorola's Envoy.TM. and IBM's Simon.TM.). The latter devices combine the functions of a personal information manager with those of a telephone, pager, or other telecommunications device.
The evolution of personal information managers has been based largely on the paper/pencil paradigm. That is, the first personal information managers attempted to mimic on a personal computer the organization and interaction of familiar looseleaf organizers. As personal information managers have migrated to handheld devices and PDAs, the same paper/pencil paradigm has been largely adhered to.
One example of such a personal information manager is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,651, entitled ELECTRONIC PERSONAL ORGANIZER, incorporated herein by reference. The electronic personal organizer described therein electronically displays graphics representative of pages of a loose-leaf booklet or binder arranged into various sections on a display screen. User input to the organizer is accomplished through a stylus and an input tablet or transducer pad sensitive to pressure or position of the stylus. Input and storage of user-generated graphics, notes, addresses, messages, etc., is provided for through various user-selectable operational modes. For example, to look up an address, an "address operational mode" is entered by positioning the stylus within the displayed PHONE tab. The organizer then operates as an address book by displaying representational graphics depicting a conventional organizer open at its address section. The edges of a sheath of pages are displayed beneath a front page having a tab indexed by the letter "A". Further tabs are shown defining sections of the sheath and each marked by a letter of the alphabet. The address book is opened to the appropriate section by positioning the stylus within the area of the desired tab. Pages are then "leafed through" using page forward and page back commands until the desired address is located.
Other conventional electronic organizers, although they may not display graphics representative of pages of a loose-leaf booklet or binder, are typically still based on the same underlying paper/pencil paradigm. In many instances, conventional elements of a graphic user interface, such as pull-down menus, buttons, etc., are used. Nevertheless, characteristically, different types of information, such as phone/address information, appointments, to-do lists, expenses, etc., are entered in separate "sections" of the personal information manager in accordance with the paper/pencil paradigm.
Under the paper/pencil paradigm, creation of a full-featured personal information manager results in the proliferation of "operational modes" in which a user must navigate through a succession of as many as five or more screen displays before arriving at a point at which the desired information can be entered or viewed. Furthermore, in each operational mode, information may be input and retrieved differently. As a result, known personal information managers are unduly complex and unwieldy, with conceptually simple data manipulations requiring a considerable amount of manual and mental effort on the part of the user.
A need therefore exists for a personal information manager that is simpler and easier to use. The present invention addresses this need.